April 2008
by DateMe
Summary: Entries for the fanfiction section of the April contest. Entries listed in order of submission. Challenge: Showered With Love, Pairing: SasuHina.
1. Rain & That Girl by embryonica

**Title:** Rain & That Girl**  
Author:** embryonica**  
Rating:** PG ( K+ )**  
Challenge:** Showered With Love**  
Pairing:** SasuHina

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, please visit our homepage on DeviantArt for directions to the original post.

* * *

Feeling (and probably looking, he groused mentally) like a drowned rat, Uchiha Sasuke squished in his soaked zouri down a hallway in the Hokage Tower to the missions room to hand in his report. He dripped all over the hardwood floors, ignoring scandalized looks and outcries from passersby, and tried his best to forget how utterly clammy he had become after entering the warm building.

'It's because of that pestering dobe,' he thought with a scowl, remembering how Naruto had delayed him for over five minutes while Sasuke had been zipping over rooftops to deliver the scroll containing the detailed summary of his mission. The sole survivor of the Uchiha clan had already noticed the darkening sky and planned to turn in the report and get back home before the thunderhead opened. Thanks to his boisterous former teammate, however, the raven-haired jounin had fallen victim to a sudden springtime downpour. It had seemed a waste to complete nearly the whole journey just to turn around and hightail it back to the compound for a hot bath and dry clothes, so Sasuke had simply continued on his way despite the rain.

Leaving a trail of water puddles and drops behind him on the floor for some poor sap to mop up, Sasuke entered the mission room to find but one shinobi at a desk, a lone kunoichi absorbed in her paperwork. When he cleared his throat, unintentionally emitting more embarrassing wet noises, her head flew up and he saw it was Hyuuga Hinata. Her pale eyes widened at the sight of him and she leaned down out of view behind her desk, rummaged for something on the floor, and popped back up with a fluffy white towel, a large lavender thermos, and a delicate-looking china teacup hand-painted with scientific illustrations and descriptions of medicinal plants. Sasuke wondered what exactly she was doing, but waited to find out, knowing she was not a frivolous individual after having undertaken a few missions with her. He could even admit to himself (never to anyone else, though!) that she was a competent kunoichi, leaps and bounds beyond her younger self who had often stuttered and hesitated to take action.

Hinata set the thermos and teacup down before leaving her chair and approaching Sasuke, the folded towel held in both hands. She offered it with a shallow bow and said politely, "Please."

With a muttered word of thanks, Sasuke grasped the clean-smelling terrycloth and did his best to soak up the rainwater drenching him. When he finally returned his attention to his surroundings, Hinata was waiting to take the towel back. He handed it over and she hung it from the back of her chair to dry. Then she held out the teacup to him and said softly, "It's hot apple cider."

He nodded in acknowledgement and took the cup into his hands, reveling for a moment in the warmth seeping through the porcelain. He took a small sip and found it neither too hot to drink nor too sweet for him to enjoy. After imbibing a bit more, he took the cup in one hand and with the other removed his report scroll from one of his vest pockets. Hinata evinced a small smile and unrolled the scroll to check its contents, but her eyebrows drew in and her lips fell into a frown when she observed the contents of the report.

"Uchiha-san," she said, slowly raising her head to meet his eyes, "I'm afraid this will have to be redone."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He never had to redo mission reports! "Why?" he demanded.

"Um, it seems that this one"--she turned the parchment for him to see--"got wet."

Indeed, the paper was wrinkly and the ink ran all over the place, transforming the writing into mostly illegible blotches. Sasuke hissed in displeasure. "Dammit!"

"If you don't mind, Uchiha-san," Hinata murmured, interrupting his infuriated mental ramblings, "I'll write the new report if you dictate it to me, that way you won't have to worry about getting it wet."

Seeing the advantage of this, Sasuke nodded. She invited him to sit down, so he grabbed another chair from an empty desk and looked on as she cleared space on her desk and retrieved a clean scroll and pen. As he took another draught of hot cider, she filled out his name and rank and looked at him to provide the rest of the information.

Some fifteen minutes later, they were finished and Hinata held out the scroll for him to review and sign. He noticed she seemed to know more shorthand than he did himself, making the report much shorter. He grunted his approval, scrawled his signature, and handed the parchment back to her. She stamped it with the day's date and quickly added her own signature in a different color ink to indicate who had received and approved the report.

"Thank you for your hard work." She accepted the empty teacup from him and replaced it and the thermos from where she had initially retrieved them. Sasuke turned to leave, but her soft voice calling his name stopped him. He glanced back to see her proffering a blue umbrella. "You can return it when you find the time," she told him with a smile.

"What about you?" he asked after a pause. "You'll get wet."

"I'll be fine," she replied. "Please use it. It's no trouble for me."

"No," he insisted. "When does your shift end? I'll come to return it then."

"I'll be done around two this afternoon," she informed him.

"See you then."

With that, he exited the room. Down on the street, sheltered by the blue umbrella, he stopped for a moment and looked up at the window in front of which Hinata had been sitting. He caught her figure through the wet glass, pearlescent eyes watching him. He lifted one hand in a wave and smirked when she blushed and tore away from the window.

Despite his squishing sandals and muddy, cold feet, Sasuke kept that sharp smile on his face all the way home.

**-finis-**


	2. Splish Splash With Me by aFlawedDesign

**Title:** Splish Splash With Me**  
Author: **aFlawedDesign**  
Rating:** G (K+)**  
Challenge:** Showered With Love**  
Pairing:** SasuHina

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, please visit our homepage on DeviantArt for directions to the original post.

* * *

_Splash Splash_

He ran enthusiastically through the damp streets of Konoha, black rubber boots hopping from one puddle to the other. His etched a smile on his older brother's face.

"Itachi-niisan!" he swivelled on his small feet and pulled down the hood of his navy raincoat, "can we go to the park?"

"How about another time? It's still raining, can't get you sick or mother will lecture me again" Itachi crouched down to look into the round obsidian saucers of his little toddler brother.

"Pleeeease" Sasuke pouted and tugged on the front of his brother's jacket with little a hand.

The older Uchiha cracked another smile and sighed in defeat, "alright but just for a bit."

"Yay!" the toddler flailed his umbrella happily before his little legs sprinted off in the direction of the local park, "hurry Ita-niisan!"

"Right behind you" Itachi voiced under his breath and sauntered after his young brother.

The raven haired toddler grinned as the park came into view. The tall trees sporadically placed, the small playground, and the luscious green grass were his haven. His bright smiled sparkled under his miniature umbrella as onyx eyes set sight on a pair of other children out for a walk as well.

Itachi walked through the entrance of the park and watched as Sasuke, in his navy raincoat featuring an intricately designed sun on the back, ran towards another toddler. The other toddler was dressed in a vibrant yellow raincoat and orange rubber boots. The hood was drawn up and appeared to resemble a duck, fully equipped with an orange beak to shield the rain from whoever's delicate face resided underneath. The upturn of Itachi's lips broadened as bobbing black umbrella met bobbing yellow umbrella.

"Hi" Sasuke greeted the other toddler and then smiled at the young infant seated on the grass in a pastel yellow poncho.

"H-hi" the face under the yellow umbrella replied quietly.

"Wanna play?" Sasuke bent down and looked up under the other umbrella where his obsidian eyes met lavender pearl orbs and a shy smile.

She looked to her mother for approval and received a sweet nod in return, "o-okay" the toddler nodded gently.

Sasuke grabbed her small hand in his and dragged her off in no particular direction. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke, what's your name?"

"Uh… Hyu-Hyuuga Hinata" her voice was soft and fragile.

"Let's go splash in the puddles Hinata!"

"Ahh!" she yelped when he gave her a solid yank and she stumbled a few steps before falling into his back. He didn't seem to care as he continued dragging her to largest and grandest puddle of them all.

At the edge of the park, seated on a bench, Itachi frowned and Hinata's mother stifled a giggle as the two toddlers neared the puddle.

Hinata's eyes widened and she dug her orange boots into the soggy earth when the two were inches from the puddle.

"What's wrong?" the Uchiha toddler asked.

"It's… It's re-really b-big" she pointed to the large puddle.

"That's the fun part, silly! Watch!" he smiled at her and then leapt into the puddle with a colossal splash. She missed most of it in favour of shielding herself with the yellow umbrella. "Aren't you going to splash too?!"

She eyed the puddle with inquisitive eyes and a scrunched nose, "n-no, it's t-too big."

"Aww, don't be a scaredy cat!" he stomped his feet with emphasis and laughed at the sprinkles of water that splashed up.

"I'm n-not a scaredy cat!" she countered and moped at him under her duck hood.

"Prove it!" he smirked his signature Uchiha smirk.

"O-okay" she swallowed hard and took a small step towards the well in the ground holding the offending murky water. One orange boot timidly sank down but was pulled out near instantly for fear of being dragged down into the three inch murky puddle of hell.

"See! You're scared!" he taunted.

"No!" she cried out, "I ju-just don't w-want to get w-wet!"

"Liar!"

"No!"

"Fine!" he yelled back before grabbing her hand with a potent heave and pulling her into the puddle with him. But to the dismay of the young Uchiha toddler, she stumbled and landed on her knees with a prominent splash; her umbrella falling upside down and picking up water in its underside.

Her lavender eyes welled up with tears that fell the instant they caught sight of her muddy hands and the feel of water filled boots. She got up to her feet and ran to her mother, sobbing all along the way.

Sasuke was left speechless but his face held a grimace directed at his older brother, who was motioning for him to go apologize. He didn't want to apologize. It was stupid, she just fell in some water, no need to go crying to mommy. He left the puddle and trudged over to his brother.

"Go apologize" Itachi said sternly.

"I don't want to" he whined, "it wasn't even my fault!"

"I'll go get her umbrella, by the time I get back, you'd better had apologized"

Sasuke scowled and nodded reluctantly.

He walked over to the girl and her mother. She was on the bench as the older woman emptied her orange boots of the water. Her eyes were red and puffy. He still didn't want to apologize, maybe he could play with her sister instead. Sasuke turned to the infant on the ground. She seemed like she could be fun.

Hanabi stared wide eyed at the Uchiha and then she laughed which was followed by blowing through her sealed lips. That led to a lot of saliva sputtering in the air surrounding the Hyuuga infant.

He frowned at the saliva covered infant and turned his attention back to the girl. When she noticed him, she hopped off the bench and scurried behind her mother's legs, clinging like her life depended on it.

"My brother says I have to apologize" he stated unhappily.

"Hinata, come out from behind there" her mother tried to tug the timid Hyuuga heiress out, but the young toddler was resilient.

"Umm…" he absently kicked his foot into the soggy dirt, "I'm sorry I pulled you into the puddle."

His face lit up a tad when he caught half of her face appear from behind her mother's legs.

"She should get home and out of those wet clothes" Itachi stepped up beside his brother, "why don't we walk her home since her umbrella is all wet, you two can share."

"Itachiiii" Sasuke whined and received a reproachful look, "fine, come on Hinata" he stomped over to her and interlaced their hands while pulling her under his umbrella.

The Hyuuga matriarch picked up Hanabi in her arms and followed the two toddlers; Itachi fell into step beside her. Their gazes locked on the miniature black umbrella sheltering the young Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata with joined hands, an adorable sight to behold.


	3. Follow the Leader by BlueQuartzFoxy

**Title: **Follow the Leader**  
Author:** BlueQuartzFoxy**  
Rating: **PG ( K+ )**  
Challenge: **Showered with Love**  
Pairing: **SasuHina

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, please visit our homepage on DeviantArt for directions to the original post.

--

**Notes:** Nothing much to report here, just know that this fan fic will take place a little bit after the events in Shippuden, no spoilers though.

* * *

Pink painted nails tap-tapped against the wooden surface of desk. A stack of unread and signature-less papers to her right elbow, mission scrolls to her left. Tsunade knew she had literally a pile of missions to off load on the two standing in front of her.

But, over half of those were useless since one of the two was still on strict probation and wasn't allowed to take missions above D rank or leave the village.

'That still leaves about thirty…' the blonde-haired woman thought with a sigh, a raging headache starting to form behind her temples. Of course even with thirty missions to choose from Sasuke would take his precious time picking out one.

'This kid is almost as bad as Naruto.' Tsunade remarked to herself with a long-suffering smirk curling on her lips as an idea came to mind.

"Nope, no missions today, sorry you two but you're just out of luck today."

Tsunade could barely keep herself from cracking up as she saw Sasuke cut her a glare. He obviously wasn't buying it, well tough! She was the Hokage; she had the power to deny the 'great' Uchiha Sasuke a mission, even one as insipid as gardening or baby-sitting.

However, Tsunade felt a stab of sympathy as she saw Hinata cringe a little.

"There is a stack of scrolls on your desk, yet you're saying you don't have a single mission for us?" Sasuke asked, obviously skeptical at Tsunade's claim.

The blonde-haired woman grinned widely, "That's right, so why don't you two run off and do something fun together."

"…fun?" Sasuke questioned, obviously liking Tsuande less and less the longer their conversation dragged on.

"Yes Uchiha, it's the opposite of work. You might try it sometime, and then you might be able to muster up a smile or two on occasion instead of looking so constipated."

--

After twenty unsuccessful minutes of Sasuke refusing to leave the Hokage tower until he and Hinata were given a mission, the couple ended up descending down the winding staircase down the bottom level. Standing in front of the entrance, Hinata first moved to get her umbrella out. With a click, black waterproof fabric burst open.

"Ah! Sasuke-san…w-wait for me, please!" Hinata called out since Sasuke was already standing out in the steady down pour of rain.

Hurrying, shoes kicking up rain puddles as she ran, Hinata came up to Sasuke's side.

Dark eyes looked down at her, "You didn't have to run. I wasn't going anywhere." Sasuke said simply.

"Um…" Hinata mumbled, her gaze lowered, thinking to herself what an idiot she was for chasing after him.

'It's not like Sasuke-san needs me.' Hinata thought, 'I only live with him because Tsunade-sama was tired of wasting ANBU members by having them stake out his house and watch over him.'

The young woman sighed a little. Five months living with the last Uchiha had hardly turned Hinata into a Sasuke fan girl.

If anything the raven-haired man…frustrated her more than anything and it was rare when someone could try Hinata's seemingly endless supply of patience. Still, her time was mostly spent about Sasuke, whether they both liked it or not.

Sasuke wasn't allowed to leave the village and could only complete D-rank missions and as his live-in guard, Hinata had to tag along with him through the village.

Falling behind Sasuke a few steps, Hinata silently pondered, her pale gaze lowered to look at the black 'bracelet' on Sasuke's wrists.

'It must be hard…' Hinata thought, 'to have so much power, so many jutsus; but being unable to use them.'

Sasuke suddenly stopped right in front of her, causing Hinata to halt her footsteps so that she didn't crash into his back.

"Are you just going to stare at my back all day?" Sasuke questioned.

Again, Hinata felt her cheeks flush up with heated color.

"Um…" she started to mutter, but stopped when Sasuke turned and looked at her.

Dark coal colored eyes seemed to stare right through her and piece something deep inside Hinata. How anyone could find those cold eyes attractive, Hinata could only guess, because to her, Sasuke's stare only managed to intimidate her.

Sasuke looked at her again then shrugged, "Never mind."

Hinata pressed her lips together, feeling like she had faltered in that Sasuke felt it was easy to brush her off.

They walked in silence for several minutes until Hinata realized something…

"Um…Sasuke-san, where are we going?" she questioned.

At first, the young man didn't answer her. He kept walking on, slowly leaving her behind.

Hinata nervously bit her bottom lip. Was she supposed to follow him? Or go home? What if Sasuke wanted to be alone and by keeping up with him she was annoying him…

"Are you coming or not?" Sasuke asked impatiently, interrupting Hinata's inward debate.

--

If Sasuke were honest with Hinata- and himself- he'd have to say that he had no earthly idea where he was going. Tsunade-sama suggested they go out and…'have fun'.

But how could anyone have fun when it was raining buckets outdoors. Sasuke's first thought was to duck into a restaurant or tea house. Even though he wasn't hungry, Sasuke knew he at least could sit a warm room and maybe have a little something to drink or snack on. But that idea came with a few cons.

Namely, Sasuke was sure shop owners wouldn't open their doors to a noted village traitor.

The gaming parlor across the way was an option too; but Sasuke knew only old men and one Nara hung out there. Though Sasuke had nothing against geezers playing Chinese Checkers, Go and Shougi; he'd rather avoid any potential run ins with that guy at all cost. Hinata already spent too much time with him whenever she offered to baby-sit for Kurenai-sensei.

Not that he was jealous.

Sasuke gave a look to Hinata, who innocently blinked, confused as to what she did to earn a glare; but then looked away again.

Though Tsunade-sama had implied otherwise, the concept of 'fun' was not a forgin one to Sasuke. He did have a childhood before the Massacre. However, Sasuke didn't think Hinata and himself could play something like 'Leap Frog' or 'Ninja' through the muddy streets of Konoha without raising a few eyebrows.

People already thought he was half-crazy as it was, Sasuke wanted to avoid proving them right.

So games he played as a six year old were out of the question. And…well Sasuke honestly didn't know what people their age did for fun. Though, Sasuke had a sinking feeling dating someone of the opposite sex fitted in somehow.

Out of suggestions, Sasuke turned to his companion and asked her…

--

"What do you do for fun?"

Hinata's footsteps stopped, pale lavender eyes blinking owlishly. Had…Sasuke just asked her that?

It seemed so…unusual for Sasuke to be interested in anyone, let alone someone's hobbies or activities.

Hinata peered up from underneath her umbrella, wondering if he was joking.

Sasuke stared back at her, "Well?" he questioned impatiently.

"Um…well…" Hinata wrestled with her self-control to keep her fingers from tapping together, "sometimes I pick and press flowers."

"…is that all?" Sasuke asked, coming close to sneering, as if wondering to himself why he thought the timid woman standing in front of him would have something interesting to suggest.

"We could…train." Hinata offered weakly, regretting it the next second when Sasuke snorted in response.

"Train? In this downpour? I don't think so. You'd end up slipping on the mud and breaking your neck."

"Well…" Hinata muttered her gaze downcast yet again.

Becoming tired of waiting for Hinata to come up with something to say, Sasuke lightly gripped the young woman's arm.

"Let's go for a walk, then we can go home," he said shortly, making Hinata cringe.

To Hinata, it seemed she could do nothing to improve Sasuke's bad moods. If anything, Hinata assumed she always made things worse.

--

'Well this is fun…not.' Sasuke thought as he and Hinata walked along the bank of a small pond. He half reconsidered Hinata's suggestion of them training since just across the small body of water was a few wooden posts for taijutsu practice. But, Sasuke was nothing if not stubborn to the core. He suggested they go for a walk and that's what they would do.

Uncomfortable silence settled in between them, but it was nothing new. Extended awkward pauses and lapses in broken-up conversation pieces was the norm.

Sasuke would have found a way to remedy that, if he deemed the lack of chatter important. Actually, one of the few things he liked…could tolerate about Hinata was her lack of lip-flapping. She seemed perfectly happy with only a few words exchanged. No unnecessary words, no flowery gushes of romance, nothing.

"Oh!" the young woman exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" Sasuke asked, raising his umbrella up a little to look over his shoulder to Hinata.

"Come over here," the girl said in a hushed yet excited tone, waving her right hand for Sasuke to approach.

Eyes narrowed, Sasuke cautiously approached the slick embankment of the pond, "Okay, now what?"

Hinata turned and shushed him.

Sasuke blinked, not used to being told to be quiet by anyone, let alone a timid slip of a girl.

"Look this way," Hinata said, her right hand pointing at something through the tall grasses and reeds.

Sasuke reluctantly complied, he looked in the vague direction Hinata pointed to, but couldn't see anything save for…grass and reeds.

"And what am I suppose to be looking at…"

Quack!

At the noise, both Hinata and Sasuke looked up, their gazes falling on the pond where two full grown ducks were swimming and quacking, pacing the length of the embankment.

The grasses parted, now Sasuke could see what Hinata was so interested in.

Three little yellow fluffy ducklings waddled through the mud and bits of greenery, quickly taking to the water as soon as their parents called.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Leave it to a girl to find something so mundane and think it was 'cute' and attention worthy.

"Well that was nice," Sasuke said, his tone of voice clearly patronizing, "Can we go now?"

Hinata nodded, "Yes…oh…" she gasped, followed closely by a giggle.

Sasuke almost dreaded to ask, "What is it now?"

Hinata giggled again, "S-sorry Sasuke, but I think…" another short laugh escaped her, "but I think you have another admirer."

Sasuke first looked to his left, right and then twisted his head to look behind.

"No, he's at your feet." Hinata said, just now gaining enough control over her giggles to talk normally.

Looking down, Sasuke was greeted to the sight of a yellow fluff ball standing less than an inch from his right heel. Beady black eyes blinked up at him.

Peep?

Sasuke frowned seriously at the duckling.

'There always have to be one, who doesn't know how to take direction,' the young man thought. Somehow Sasuke thought that phrase applied more to his former teammate Naruto than the duckling; but same difference.

"Hey, genius. You're going the wrong way. The pond is over there." Sasuke said in a not-so-helpful manner.

The duckling simply cocked it's head inquisitively.

The parent ducks and siblings quaked and peeped, calling the fourth one to the pond. It didn't take long for the fluff of feathers to realize he was going the wrong way.

Turning around the duckling wadded into the water, swimming quickly to join his siblings.

"…stupid bird." Sasuke muttered.

Hinata smiled warmly, "Maybe it was a case of mistaken identity?" she suggested.

"What does that mean?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata only smiled and kept the 'joke' to herself.

Somehow she didn't think Sasuke wanted to know she thought the duckling might have thought Sasuke was it's momma or daddy because it saw the ruffled back of his hair.

Continuing their walk, Sasuke couldn't help but notice how Hinata watched the duck family, particular that one scatter-brained duckling. Now the yellow fluff-ball had taken to swimming ahead of not only his siblings; but his parent's as well.

"I never thought I would see an animal as dense as Naruto…" Sasuke muttered to himself, thinking Hinata hadn't heard him.

But she had. And it made Hinata cringe a little. She hated to hear Sasuke belittle his former teammates like that. Sometimes, Hinata felt like rubbing in the fact Naruto and Sakura were the only people who ever wanted Sasuke back.

However, as true as the statement was, Hinata knew saying such a thing would be a low blow to anyone. Even the seemingly unfathomable Uchiha Sasuke.

"I…I honestly don't think he's scatter-brained. I think Naruto just marches to his own drum." Hinata replied honestly.

Sasuke turned a little to look at her, making Hinata realize she should have said 'duckling' instead of referring to his old teammate.

"I um…sorry…" she said, looking away.

"You like him that much." Sasuke stated rather than questioned.

Hinata ducked her head, face burning from a blush. "Um yes…a little."

"But," she mustered up a weak smile, "I don't think there's a chance he'll ever see me as anything more than Hinata-chan."

Sasuke wasn't sure if he should take that as Hinata had given up on Naruto, or that she really took the marriage contract seriously.

Before Hinata accepted her mission to be Sasuke's live-in guardian; Hiashi had refused to let his daughter live with a grown man. Or at least not without a contract of marriage.

'Sneaky Hyuuga, very sneaky.' Sasuke thought, expelling a small puff of air.

But rather than tell Hinata the contract didn't matter to him, Sasuke decided to let her keep thinking their sham marriage was sacred. For, as selfish as it sounded, Sasuke had grown accustomed to having Hinata around.

He wasn't 'in love' with her, maybe he never would be. However, for not being a person in love, Sasuke found it bothered him Hinata still had feelings for Naruto.

"Let's go home," he said, suddenly not in the mood to finish up the rest of their rainy day stroll.

"Alright…" Hinata replied, yet gave a lingering glance to the ducks as if she would have been perfectly content to watch them all day.

"If you want a pet that badly Hinata, we can always buy a cat; but I refuse to take in a duck."

Hinata wrinkled her nose, "B-but I'm allergic to cats!"

"I'm thinking black and white short hair." Sasuke continued, suddenly changing course for a pet shop.

"But if we get a cat Kiba-kun and Akamaru can't come over to visit…" Hinata tried to protest, now all but pleading her case to Sasuke.

"Yet another good reason to get one." Sasuke returned with a rare smirk-smile hybrid curving on his lips.

Sasuke of course wasn't serious about getting a cat- he had enough trouble keeping track of Hinata inside that large house without worrying about a pet too.

He just wanted to rile Hinata up a little bit, since her responses to some of his more outrageous statements were…amusing to watch.

Hinata's overreactions were yet another thing he tolerated…liked about her.

--

**Note: **Thanks for reading, I hope you have enjoyed this little fan ficlet! Later


	4. Bridging Love by Fatcat648

**Title:** Bridging Love**  
Author: **Fatcat648**  
Rating: **PG ( K+ )**  
Challenge:** Showered with Love**  
Pairing: **SasuHina

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, please visit our homepage on DeviantArt for directions to the original post.

* * *

The myth had been true.

The love glowed in Hinata's lilac eyes like a quiet flame, flickering in its strength and magnitude as the ringing of the distant church bells propelled her from her seat to lean forward into a nervous and tense Sasuke. The gondola rocked softly at their shifting movements as he attempted to keep distance from the love-struck girl.

However Sasuke couldn't control his dark eyes from smoldering at the water plastering itself to her curvy form from today's earlier showers. He quickly slapped himself mentally though when he felt Hinata manage to grab a hold of his ankle and slowly crawl toward his face.

His eyes widely stared at her soft smiling one as she inched closer, her peach dusted lips breathing heavily on his own labored mouth when the world finally came crashing down.

-

'A few hours earlier….'

-

Her livid moon-shaped eyes quickly scanned the old, fading colorful houses sleeping quietly by the lapping river before softly sketching its image onto her sketch pad. The rapid scratches of her pencil and the rhythmic crashing of the river filled her ears with a central calmness as Hinata finally finished her quick sketch. She smiled, closing the sketch pad while keeping her eyes solely on the beauty of Venice, Italy.

Spring break had just begun at Konoha University and with nothing else to do, Hinata had hopped on a plane with her friends to sunbathe in the Tuscan sun of Italy. They had seen the Sistine Chapels of Rome and the dusty museums of Florence and had now just arrived in Venice, "City of Water."

She pulled her jacket closer as a breeze brushed the ends of her long ebony hair whispering, "So beautiful…"

"Are you done?"

The deep baritone voice shattered the tranquil moment, causing Hinata to jump a little in surprise. Clutching her chest and sketch pad, she timidly turned to the voice behind her and immediately tensed. Uchiha Sasuke, decked in a black jacket, leaned casually against the wall watching her with such an intense gaze that sent shivers through her spine.

"S-Sasuke-san, w-what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you."

She blinked in surprise and couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

He only responded with a "Hn.." and pushed himself off the wall as he approached her. She froze like a deer in the headlights and felt her breath shortened the closer he came to her.

Something about the younger Uchiha – or all Uchihas in fact – sent her mind into overload. His cool composure always made her stuttering and bent head seem glaringly shameful than normal. Hinata was perpetually avoiding the Uchiha in fear of the sharp gaze and cold attitude that could be directed to her fragile heart – qualities every girl at the University adored. She couldn't understand what his fan girls saw in him and really didn't want to find out.

And now she was completely alone with the Uchiha Sasuke.

For awhile Hinata and Sasuke continued to stare at one another, Hinata with a look of fear and anxiety and Sasuke with a look of boredom that tittered on the edge of something different.

When the silence grew too thick for Hinata to breathe, she tried to break the spell with a casual, "Where are the others?" but ended up wincing at the squeak that came out instead. Her embarrassment grew to a full-blown blush when she witnessed the Uchiha smirk at her shame.

She felt her cheeks burn hotly and buried her head into her hands, accidentally dropping her sketch pad open. She watched in horror as Sasuke bent down to pick up her sketch pad and stare at the drawing on the splayed out page.

A contented Naruto was happily napping on the bar stool at a restaurant with multiple empty ramen bowls surrounding the man. The detail was done carefully and considerately down to the very whiskers on the blonde's face.

Hinata stuttered in panic, "No! D-don't look! G-G-Give it b-back!"

The Uchiha ignored her words, staring at her sketch pad with flat and critical eyes. Hinata could only hover in hair-tearing patience before he would be done. When he did finally close the page, she snatched the sketch pad uncharacteristically rough, holding it close to her heart. Her thudding heart slowly quieted in her ears and with a blush still on her face she turned to the Uchiha.

"You're quite a good artist."

She blinked a few times before the impact of the words actually started to sink in. Her blush lightened to something of pleased embarrassment as she whispered, "Thank you."

Sasuke only turned his head to the sky with a "Hn," before saying "We should go now. The others are waiting for us at the café."

She nodded complacently and followed his languid form through the twisting and turning streets of Venice. The skies above rumbled with the warning of rain causing Hinata to worry. She hadn't thought to bring an umbrella. Her worries were confirmed when the sky opened to cascade a rain shower upon them.

Hurriedly she tried to hide her sketch pad under her jacket when Sasuke suddenly caught her hand, pulling her into the dry confines of a small convenient store. Both panted from the exertion and chill the rain had brought. Hinata however smiled gratefully at a silent Sasuke who quickly turned away.

She frowned slightly at his odd behavior before she felt her cell phone vibrate in her coat pocket. Quickly she fumbled to hold onto her sketch pad while fishing out the slippery cell phone. Sasuke finally intervened and took hold of the sketch pad, idly flipping through her art as she breathlessly answered the phone.

"Hey Hinata-chan! It's me! Naruto speaking!"

"N-N-Naruto-kun!"

"Yep! That's my name alright. Hehehe. Anyways where are you and Sasuke-teme? Sakura-chan and me are still here waiting at the café."

"Oh… W-Well it started to rain so we're just w-waiting out the rain."

Crashing noises and shouting filtered through the cell phone. Hinata winced at the chaos on the other line and anxiously called out Naruto through the speaker. When the blonde finally came back, he spoke with a strained voice, "Eh-er I think we have a problem Hinata-chan. Please! Come quick – 'NARUTO! YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!!' No! Sakura-chan! N-Not the chair! Not the chair!! Hinata! Help! Save meee!!"

The line strangely went dead.

"That dobe. He got himself into trouble again, didn't he?" asked Sasuke still flipping through her sketch pad. She vaguely nodded and Sasuke sighed in annoyance.

"We'll have to buy umbrellas then. Come on."

He held the convenient store's door opened for her. The spotted a pair of umbrellas right away hiding near the candy section. Hinata thoughtfully selected the purple floral umbrella compared to Sasuke's choice of a simple black design. With their umbrellas in hand, they both headed to the cashier only to realize the long queue waiting behind an elderly woman rummaging through her suitcase of a purse for her money.

Sighing, Hinata drudgingly stepped into the end of the line with Sasuke right behind her. For awhile neither spoke, content to listen to the rain splatter and the murmurs and groans of other customers.

What did break the comfortable silence though opened up a new door of problems for Hinata.

"You like Naruto, don't you?"

It wasn't a question really, but a statement. Yet it was the utter bluntness and straight-forwardness of the whole issue that knocked the breath out of her.

"H-How can you t-tell?"

He shrugged, turning his gaze out to the rain.

"You're always so nervous around him – even when just talking to him on a cell phone. The picture you drew of him was in much better detail than any of your other sketches but the blush was the first thing to give you away."

The growing blush on her cheeks only further proved his point.

"Why him?"

Hinata's mind spun dizzily at the turn of events. She would have never guessed she'd be having this kind of conversation with a boy – let alone Uchiha Sasuke!

Silently she prayed for the rain to let up or the line to speed up. Anything to avoid answering Sasuke's questions!

When his intense gaze did not falter, Hinata stuttered, "I-I-I don't really h-have a particular re-reason. I-I guess it's because he's always so cheerful an-and confident. He never gives up and I-I want to be l-like him. Strong."

She kept quiet when Sasuke didn't immediately respond after her confession.

Trying to keep her mind off the man beside her, she watched as the elderly woman at the cashier carefully counted her money to the annoyance of the cashier. When all the coins had been counted at least twice, the elderly woman pushed it to the cashier who, quick as lightning, bagged her goods, printed her receipt, and tiredly waved the old woman off.

The queue finally crept forward and it wasn't long before Hinata stood in front with her floral umbrella.

"That'll be 12 euros Miss."

She smiled politely and reached into her coat pocket for her wallet. Her smile dropped when all her hand found was lint. Panicking she searched all over herself for the elusive wallet and bit her lip when she heard the queue behind her groan.

"Miss? Is everything alright?"

"I-I'm sorry. I can't seem to f-find my wallet – I"

The clang of coins and cash interrupted her incoherent words as Sasuke placed the money down to pay for her umbrella.

Hinata dumfounded, watched agape as the cashier politely thanked them both for their patronage and Sasuke escort her outside with only one umbrella.

'Wait. Only one umbrella?'

"S-Sasuke-san, thank you b-but we only have one umbrella!"

He grunted opening the umbrella and stepping out into the rain, still clutching her sketch pad.

"Didn't have enough money to buy the other umbrella. We're just going to have to share this one."

Hinata gulped and slowly stepped underneath the umbrella with Sasuke. Standing so close to the Uchiha made her heart pound and head spin. She'd never noticed how tall he was compared to her petite form and tried not to brush too close to him. As a result of her attempts, the water from the edge of the umbrella continuously pattered on her shoulders, soaking her hair and coat till she couldn't stop shivering from the cold.

Sasuke only sighed and pulled her closer towards his form under the umbrella muttering, "Stay close and don't get wet."

Hinata nodded nervously the blush on her face glowing. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear Sasuke's soft voice speaking.

"It doesn't sound like love. At least to me it doesn't."

"W-What do you mean b-by that?"

"Your feelings for Naruto. It's not love."

"Oh…"

"More like admiration, respect even."

"I… I don't understand Sasuke-san."

Sasuke stopped in mid-step causing Hinata to freeze too. She looked at Sasuke's indecipherable face and his hands tightening the umbrella's handle. They were only a block away from the café.

"Sasuke-san? Are you not feeling well?"

"No I.. Hinata, I…"

She took a step forward and pulled his forehead to bump into hers.

"Hmm… Sasuke-san your face is warm."

Her hands smoothed his wet bangs to rest more firmly on his face all the while wondering why the Uchiha's face seemed to turn suddenly pink. When she pulled back she shook her finger like a reprimanding mother, "Sasuke-san I think you may have caught a cold – probably the same one from Kiba-kun and Shino-kun."

The Uchiha was too baffled with her proximity to say much but didn't have to when smoke exploded from around the block. Women's screams shrilled through the streets air. Sasuke immediately regained his cool composure and ran with Hinata to the café.

Disaster reigned destruction in what was the Caffè di Litte.

Chairs and tables were broken to splinters littering the outdoor plaza while the café's windows and door opened to release the billow of a smoke most foul and thick.

Smelling something akin to burnt ramen.

"NAAAAAARUUUTOOOOOOO!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!"

"No! No! Sakura-chan! P-Put the knife down! P-Please!!"

Hinata looked questioningly at Sasuke who only shook his head.

Suddenly a blonde body was thrown from the window of the café, bleeding and bruised. Naruto groaned as he rolled along the hard pavement and whimpered at the sight of Sakura in a frilly apron with the splatter of blood on the peach cloth.

"NARUTO!"

The boy cried out when he spotted a bewildered Hinata and an irritated Sasuke standing in the street. He ran towards them and grabbed Hinata in tears, trying to shield himself from Sakura's wrath.

"Save me Hinata-chan!!"

"Get off her dobe!"

"NARUTO!!"

Hinata felt herself being pulled from all three directions. Her head was spinning out of control and her arms were going to be ripped from their sockets if they didn't stop soon.

Frustrated she yelled, "STOP IT!! ALL OF YOU! STOP!"

Hinata breathed hard trying to glare at the stunned group, but couldn't hold her eyes into anger for long. She took a long breath to gather her nerves and mind.

"Alright. Please tell me what happened, Naruto and Sakura."

"Well you see here Hinata-chan, me and Sakura were waiting for you guys to finish up at this café – "

"When this moron here," Sakura said bonking Naruto on the head, "decides he wants to eat only to discover they don't have ramen in Italy. Somehow – only Kami knows – he manages to convince the owner to let him try and cook ramen in the kitchen."

"Yeah and things were going so well until the.. er.. ehehehe kitchen exploded."

Sakura slapped her hand to her forehead in unbelief of Naruto's utter stupidity. Sasuke and Hinata only stared at the blonde sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"The kitchen exploded, dobe?"

"Ehehehe uh yes. It was an er… accident – but I – "

The shrill of a police whistle interrupted Naruto's excuse as a group of policemen appeared at the end of the street chasing after them.

"Oh crap! Not the police!" yelled Naruto.

"Oh my Kami! Naruto if I go to jail I swear I will murder you!" threatened Sakura.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no," squeaked Hinata looking around the streets.

"Damn! We'll have to split up. Keep your cell phone on and we'll meet up at the hotel later," ordered Sasuke.

With that, Sasuke dropped the umbrella and grabbed Hinata's hand pulling her down through the twisting streets of Venice. Sakura and Naruto headed in the other direction scampering as the policemen panted towards the café.

Hinata struggled to keep up with Sasuke's wind-breaking pace, praying she wouldn't slip and ruin their chances of escape. They turned so many corners that Hinata soon lost all sense of direction until they came upon the river.

Sasuke soon spotted an empty gondola boat and jumped in holding his hand out for Hinata. She shakily grabbed his hand and leapt onto the soggy cushions. Sasuke worked fast to untie the boat and pushed them out into the current to lazily drift through the city and hopefully out of pursuit.

Hinata dropped her head miserably into her hands.

"We're f-fugitives now. They might even deport us out of Italy."

Sasuke only chuckled.

"At least it stopped raining."

She peeked from her hands and smiled at the sun shyly breaking through the clouds.

"Yeah. It did stop."

She watched the river and the old houses pass them by as Sasuke rowed the boat forward. Her eyes continuously spotted bridges overhanging the river and the urge to sketch overwhelmed Hinata.

"Sasuke-san, do you happen to still have m-my sketch pad?"

He nodded bringing the sketch pad unharmed and completely dry from the inside of his jacket to hand to her. She nodded gratefully and pulled out a pencil from her pocket to start sketching the bridges.

"Sasuke-san, have you ever heard of the myths about the b-bridges in Venice?"

"No, nothing about bridges."

Still sketching the bridge, Hinata continued to chatter softly.

"There's a myth about a bridge in Venice that promises true love that will last forever. You have to travel under it by gondola and sometime in the afternoon when the church bells are ringing, a spell is cast and you'll fall in love with whoever you're with. Forever."

Sasuke snorted unconvinced.

Hinata a little peeved, placed her sketch pad down to eye the Uchiha.

"You don't believe so?"

"No. Too corny."

Hinata frowned and slipped off her coat since the sun was fully shining down upon them.

"It's not corny. It's romantic."

"Bridges, bells, and myths can't guarantee true love. Love is only a feeling that people have to work at."

Hinata stayed silent at that, staring intently at the Uchiha. He ignored her stares and continued to row slowly.

"You are quite a surprise, Sasuke-san."

He smirked at that and opened his mouth to retort when the distant church bells began to sing out. His eyes blinked in confusion as the gondola passed under a particularly wide bridge. A feeling tugged at Sasuke that didn't seem particularly right.

The bridge had snuffed out the sunlight and Sasuke could feel the anxiety build up to escape from the dankness. He withheld the sigh when the gondola finally broke back into the open air and sunlight.

"Oh Sasuke, it's beautiful. Relax and sit down beside me."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at the request but rested the paddle against the side and took a seat next to Hinata. His eyes roamed the surroundings and he almost smiled at the tranquility of it all when he felt Hinata slowly rest her head against his shoulder.

He tensed at her next words.

"Sasuke-koi, I'm so happy to be here with you."

Her hand searched to intertwine her fingers with his own. Sasuke however shook himself from her grip to look confusedly at her.

Her lilac-eyes looked dazed and drunk as she whispered, "Kiss me, Sasuke-koi. I love you."

The myth had been true.

-

'Currently…'

-

The world finally came crashing down on Sasuke as he hit the water. What made things twice as worse was the belly-cracking laughter coming from Hinata as she tried to hold the tears from her eyes.

He had been played.

Sputtering in the water, he glared at the woman who was trying to apologize in between wheezes.

"I-I – wheeze – am so sorry Sasuke-san! I-ahahaha I didn't mean for you to f-hehehe-fall out of the boat!"

Tired of her laughter Sasuke decided to fight fire with fire. Taking a deep breathe, Sasuke sunk below the surface of the water.

Hinata finally caught her breath when she noticed Sasuke was no longer on the surface. Worried she called out his name, apologizing again and again.

She leaned over the side of the gondola looking for him when something reached out to pull her into the water. Hinata fell into the river with a shriek.

She sputtered and splashed in the water and glared at a laughing Sasuke.

It was a rare sound to hear.

And eventually the anger disappeared and she couldn't help but smile and laugh along with him too. They treaded water splashing each other until the cold finally seeped into their bones. Shivering Sasuke and Hinata swam toward the drifting gondola, Sasuke jumping on first.

He held out a hand to Hinata and brought her straight up so fast she had to lean into him to avoid splashing back into the freezing water. For awhile neither moved and still shivering from something besides the cold, Hinata slowly looked up into Sasuke's face.

Huskily he whispered into her ear, "You know, I never got that kiss."

And before she could protest, he pressed his lips gently on her own. Vaguely Hinata heard the church bells ring and the rain drizzle on them despite the clear skies.

-

End

-

**AN: **Well this was a very cutesey and romantic story! I actually have another version that uses the same basic beginning but with a totally different plot! I'll post it up later but I think I'll use this fanfict for my submission for DateMe. I hoped you enjoyed it!


	5. Working Late by MissLe

**Title: **Working Late**  
Author:** MissLe**  
Rating:** PG ( K+ )**  
Challenge: **Showered With Love**  
Pairing: **SasuHina

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, the original is posted right here on ff. net in MissLe's (aka, lemonfishy on DA) personal profile.

* * *

Hinata trudged along in the muddy streets trying to stay as close under the umbrella that the unreasonably stubborn boy next to her was clutching. An uncharacteristic scowl crossed her normally pleasant face; she couldn't imagine how she had willingly been caught up in this whole situation. The rain was driving down relentlessly, she was drenched, his strides were too long for her to keep up to, her socks were wet, the umbrella above the two of was hardly large enough to shelter the both of them; the silent complaints were endless.

She hated rain storms. She hated Uchiha Sasuke.

—

She drummed her fingers on the desk and stared out of the window dismally. Rain, just as the forecaster had predicated. Except, he had neglected just how much there would be, it slammed against the windows loudly and left absolutely no dry spots within sight. Wasn't winter supposed to be snowy, fluffy and white?

She snapped her head back to her computer, pretending that she had been working when she felt her shoulder being tapped. Slowly turning her head like a guilty child she faced the man who was trying to claim her attention and relaxed her tensed shoulder seeing who it was.

"Hinata," Naruto yawned, "Don't forget that tonight's your turn to do accounting." He reminded her and stood up from his comfortable swivel chair which was located at the desk next to her, stretching from the balls of his feet to the tips of his fingers.

Cringing and groaning inwardly, Hinata nodded. Once every two weeks there were one or two people from the office who had to stay behind and finish up some accounting. Tonight was hers.

She rested her cheek in her palm and watched as Naruto and Sakura left together, laughing and flirting shamelessly. Hinata sighed; they were probably going back to his apartment to have hot, steamy—

"Hyuuga, stop ogling, will you? It's embarrassing. I want to go home as soon as possible, so start already." Sasuke snapped at her and tossed an eraser at her, breaking her train of thought (that actually, she was ashamed to have even started) and jolting her into a proper sitting position.

She look behind her and frowned at Sasuke while rubbing the part of her neck that the eraser had made contact with. It seemed that she would be spending the next hour and a half to two hours alone with this insufferable man. Damn.

She didn't even know what she had done to spike the irritation in him; he was always so rude to her. Normally, he would stay silent and only glower at his other coworkers, but no…it was always Hinata he was picking on. He was always snapping at her when she asked for simple things like an extra pencil or highlighter, or when she gave simple remarks about the extraordinarily delicious coffee on that day, he would angrily glare at her as if she had just said something remarkably offensive to him.

He looked back up at her and gave a small apathetic shrug before looking back down at his screen and typing furiously.

Hinata resisted the urge to bare her teeth like a wild animal and growl like an indignant cat which had been dunked in water. Luckily, her father had raised her better than that, so she merely stuck out her tongue at him when she figured he wasn't looking.

"I saw that, you know." He remarked without removing his eyes from the computer screen before him and twitched his lips into a near smile of amusement.

Hinata flushed a deep red and swivelled back around in her chair.

—

Two and a half hours. Two and a half freaking hours. That was how long she had been stranded along in that office with Sasuke for. The Uchiha had actually been remarkably well behaved throughout the whole duration of their time, not even once provoking her to the point of losing her cool.

But still, she better be paid damn well for all of that overtime she had just put in there.

She shivered from underneath her thin coat that was not made for weather like this. She wished she had a car instead of always having to take the bus (which she was sure she had missed, meaning she'd have to wait around for another half an hour until the next one arrived); it would be so much more convenient.

"You know," Sasuke tapped her from behind, "It's dangerous for you to be staying out by yourself in the dark. On an empty street. By yourself."

Hinata turned around and closed her coat around her tighter, hoping more heat would be contained this way, "Th-thank you for your concern, but I have a bus to catch." She said through chattering teeth.

Sasuke shrugged, "It's your choice. I'm walking back home."

Hinata scrunched her face and looked up at him, he was nearly being nice. She was about to refuse his offer, but realised he had a valid point, at this time of night some Creepy Guy was bound to be up and…well, creeping. Also, the fact that Sasuke's apartment was only three blocks away from her own made what he was subtly suggesting all the more convenient.

He had already put up his umbrella and began walking away, Hinata took quick strides to catch up with him, "Do…do you mind if I come with you? Seeing as you live so close to me?"

He gave a small snort that Hinata was sure may have been a chuckle in his own, strange way, "I thought you might see it my way."

Hinata frowned at her feet, not daring to actually direct it to his face, not after already being caught pulling such a childish face towards him.

The umbrella that Sasuke held over them was much too small for the both of them to stay totally dry under, as a result, Hinata's entire right side was uncomfortably drenched. She leaned in towards Sasuke, hoping it may keep her at least a little drier. It worked…sort of. She sighed, at least Sasuke was warm, warmer than her own coat was keeping her, the heat radiating off of him was enough to keep her from shivering further.

Sasuke, surprisingly enough, hadn't done anything to physically pry her away from him like she would have expected from such a female hating man. He had left her sudden closeness nearly unacknowledged except for a small hiss of breath that he let out, Hinata guessed because of her wet and cold shoulders or (like mentioned before) his aversion to females.

They took a left and Hinata's posture went rigid, "Sasuke…our homes are in that general direction," She pointed down the street, "This way would take us in the opposite direction."

"So you have walked to work before," He said, bemused. Hinata blushed, she didn't like his tone, it seemed so condescending and only made her suspicious of his reason to go in the opposite direction of their respective homes.

Sasuke must've sensed her distress, so amended quickly, "I'm not about to go off and do anything inappropriate to you if that's what you're worried about, I'm just not in any rush to go home. I like being out in the rain." He added with a touch of embarrassment like it was a secret he saved for himself.

Hinata stared down the street that she normally took longingly, he may enjoy being soaked to the bone, but she did not. It would be quicker yes…but it may also be risky walking alone by herself, not to mention she preferred to at least keep her left side relatively dry. Hesitantly, she nodded at Sasuke and instinctively gripped his arm, she supposed she could trust him, rude as he may be, he had done nothing make her distrust him.

"It's not that much further, I promise. Only another ten minute detour." He assured her quietly and let his tensed muscles finally relax from underneath her loose grip.

"Sasuke…" Hinata began after nodding in affirmation, "Could you tilt the umbrella over here? Please?" Sure, she was a little drier now that she was clutching his arm, but it wasn't that much of an improvement.

"No." He responded, deadpanned.

Hinata let out an indignant gasp, it was bad enough that he was making the two of them walk an extra couple of blocks to get home in the relentless rain, but now he was depriving her of a small, harmless request and possibly her health? She had worked so hard not to catch a cold this past season too.

Gritting her teeth to prevent any profanities from slipping out, she stomped angrily on the sidewalk; the sooner she got home the better.

Sasuke chuckled, "You are amusing, you know. Your childish behaviour makes you interesting, I suppose." He pulled his arm that she was clutching onto closer to him, dragging her in along with it.

The evident blush powdered her cheeks, ears and nose, "Glad to be of service." She said quietly, trying her hardest to cool down her annoyance and frustration.

"Didn't think you had it in you to be witty either."

"I could say the same to you." She agreed with him though, normally she was too shy to ever say anything remotely scathing.

He said nothing to this and Hinata was grateful for the silence that was brought on. It left her to pretend that Sasuke was not next to her and that he was not being a royal pain in her ass. Soon, her mind began to wander to what he had said to her.

I like being out in the rain.

It struck her as an oddly romantic thing to like, he struck her more as a…well…she wasn't sure what he struck her as. She didn't know anything about him other than he was her age and sat in the desk behind her at the office, and she definitely did not know his likes or dislikes. Rain, when she thought about it (and was not receiving the brunt of it) seemed like a gentle thing that gave life to flower, plants and animals. When she thought of rain, the famous scene from the movie, The Notebook, always appeared to her.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He was remarkably handsome with damp hair clinging to his face and small droplets of rain falling from his eyelashes and the tip of his nose. She knew he was classically gorgeous and on the verge of pretty, but she hadn't ever given it a second thought.

"We're here now." Sasuke said and stopped suddenly, making Hinata jerk forwards, then spring back against his arm.

"Oh." She hoped he hadn't noticed her ogling.

"Do…do you want me to walk you to your door?" He asked her awkwardly.

She blinked. It seemed a very gentlemanly thing to do. Yet again, not something she had expected from Sasuke. Without thinking, she nodded and was jerked forwards again with his long strides.

Once at her front step, she fumbled through her purse for her keys and pulled them out without too much of a hassle. She brushed away her bangs that were sticking uncomfortably across her forehead and looked up at him, suddenly realising just how close the two of them were, she could tilt her head upwards just a slight bit and her lips would touch his chin.

"Th-thank you for walking me home," She thanked him breathlessly and was mortified that she couldn't back up; her back was already pressed against the door.

He nodded, but didn't back away like Hinata had hoped he might. She bit her lip, "W-would you like to come in and have some coffee?"

He looked at her, then her door. Finally, he shook his head, "Thank you though."

Hinata realised how much of a pest she had been during the whole walk; she turned a deep crimson shade and was ashamed of her previous behaviour. "I really do appreciate you walking me home. A-are you sure there's nothing I can do for you?"

Sasuke gave an actual grin, "Hinata, you have no idea how long I've waited for it to rain when it was our turn to do accounting."

Hinata blushed and drew a look of confusion across her face, "For what?"

He raised an eyebrow, "You really are amusingly childish, in a naïve sort of way this time." Hinata opened her mouth to give an angry protest, but was stunned into silence as Sasuke bent his head down and press his lips against her forehead. She was still standing with her mouth agape as he took a step back, grinning impishly.

"So, I'll see you at work tomorrow." With that he walked down her driveway whistling pleasantly.

That man really was full of surprises.

— — —

So…this is my entry for DateMe's contest. I'm pretty happy with it.

Ciao,

MissLe


	6. Maple Tree by Bullwinkle's Lady

**Title: **Maple Tree**  
Author:** Bullwinkle's Lady**  
Rating:** PG-13 ( T )**  
Challenge: **Showered With Love**  
Pairing: **SasuHina

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, the original is posted right here on ff. net in Bullwinkle's Lady's (aka, Bullwinkle520 on DA) personal profile.

* * *

A small, delicate, hand reached toward another's face, intending to trace a small cut across his cheek. The hand was promptly slapped away.

Naruto and Sakura winced.

"Why does she take that from him?" was Naruto's hushed whisper. Sitting high in a tree branch beside his pink-haired teammate, he absently fingered a whiskered cheek. The dying red maple leaves easily hid them from sight of the two shinobi standing below.

Sasuke was dressed in his ANBU armor, having returned from a mission only moments prior. He seemed rather cranky, as he glared at the heiress with a clenched jaw and narrowed onyx eyes.

Cheeks flushed, Hinata adorned a jounin vest, long hair beating against her tense back. Her fingers intertwined behind her, she shuffled her feet as she stared upon parched earth. It was the Hyuuga's newest nervous stance, And cute as hell, Naruto thought. Why is she with a guy like Sasuke?

It was painful to see them fight, yet it was something that had to be done. Naruto wanted only to leap down between them – to protect Hinata from the Uchiha's loathsome stare.

"I wonder if they're breaking up," Sakura hissed quietly.

"Some people are incompatible," Naruto responded hoarsely. "Sometimes death is a beautiful thing." He watched fiery maple leaves rain down on the couple.

"But what could they be fighting about?" the Haruno girl murmured, cupping her ear.

Sasuke made a comment, one that neither of them could catch, but his tone was monotonous, and his girlfriend visibly sagged. The Uchiha snatched a leaf from the air, allowing it to burn between his fingers. Her eyes watering, Hinata quickly turned to leave, and Sasuke seemed momentarily caught off guard.

Stunned.

"What?" Naruto whispered, unable to comprehend. "Is it over?"

A weary smile crossed Sakura's face. "Maybe it's . . . just beginning?"

They watched Sasuke's scowl soften, until it revealed something bordering pain.

"Hinata."

And in his voice, the slight breech of diffidence.

The heiress gasped as Sasuke caught her wrist, and Naruto nearly fell in his desperation to keep them in sight. Sasuke pulled Hinata back under the dying tree, against his chest, wrapped in his arms, and whispered something, gently, against her ear.

Naruto and Sakura stared in shock when Sasuke released her. Hinata's tears finally spilled.

Naruto shook his head in disgust. "What a bastard. What a sick basta-"

"I love you too!" Hinata cried, loudly enough for the spectators to hear. Naruto dazedly watched as the heiress latched onto Sasuke and attacked him with kisses.

Her lover's arms locked around her waist, and smirking, he kissed her back. Against her lips, he offered his vow, again and again. I love you.

It seemed their argument was over.

Naruto blushed and Sakura grinned. The blonde released a small cough. "So maybe I was wrong," he mentioned.

-- -- --

I'm not fully conscious right now, and as much as I re-read this, I can't seem to improve it. Constructive criticism would be strongly appreciated.

Thanks for reading, please review.


	7. Mushy Feelings by Ms Videl Son

**Title:** Mushy Feelings  
**Author:** megaminoeien  
**Rating:** G ( K )  
**Challenge:** Showered With Love  
**Pairing:** SasuHina

-- -- --

"Eww...I got mud on my new boots!" Ino complained, lifting her sky blue rainy day footwear out of the muck. She gave it a hearty shake, sending the sopping wet dirt particles flying in all directions. They clung to everything within their range, including Ino's pink-haired friend, who squealed as she was assaulted by the chunks of mud.

"Ino-chan!" cried Sakura, flinching her entire body away from the splatter. "You're getting my coat all dirty! Stop it!"

After a few squishy paces, Ino had extricated herself from the mud puddle and reestablished herself on firmer ground. "Oh, don't be such a crybaby, Sakura. It'll wash off."

The formerly timid girl muttered something quiet and spiteful under her breath that Ino didn't quite catch. Sakura was getting bolder, but was apparently still not brave enough to say what she meant to Ino's face.

"What was that?" the blonde demanded of Sakura, leveling a glare in her friend's direction.

Flushing a resentful pink, Sakura replied, "Nothing."

As she gave her pink-haired friend the once over, Ino still wasn't convinced that "nothing" was exactly what had come out of Sakura's mouth, but was willing to let it go. To prove it, she said, "Whatever...I hate rainy days, don't you? They're so _icky_."

Nodding emphatically, Sakura jumped on the change of subject like a ravenous wolf. "Yeah, totally gross! I especially hate how there are worms everywhere."

As if on cue, something wet and slimy collided with Ino's face and stuck there like undercooked spaghetti. "Aiiieee! Get it off, _get it off_!" was her immediate and visceral response, quickly followed by a lot of wild flailing and wordless screaming.

After finally managing to get whatever it was off of her person and flinging it away, it was Sakura's turn to panic. "It's in my hair! _Eee_!"

—

"Stupid girls!" Sasuke declared, wheezing a little as his laughter at Ino and Sakura's expense finally abated. He clutched at a stitch in his side and coughed a couple of times to clear out his lungs before saying, "It was only a _worm_!"  


Sasuke's mean-spirited glee was always at its peak on rainy days. After all, that was when earthworms were forced to surface from the depths of the Earth or suffer a watery death in their tunnels, making them easily available for a bit of revenge against the girls in Sasuke's life who never seemed to take a hint. They brought it on themselves, really.

Sasuke's mother had warned him many a time to cease and desist this disgusting form of torture on the premise that, by the time he finally became interested in taking one of those squealing harpies as a love interest, no girl would have him. As far as Sasuke could see, none of them were deterred even in the slightest from their infatuated ravings, so he somewhat doubted that this would be the case. Besides, there was no way that any girl he ever so happened to like _that way_ would ever be so pathetically afraid of harmless annelids. No, Uchiha Sasuke would never settle for a girl who hated worms. He'd only date the ones who liked them as much as he did (thereby giving him a fail-safe excuse that would enable him to stay single forever).

Okay, so who would he victimize next? That obnoxious Ami girl was usually hovering around somewhere...

Looking around, Sasuke inwardly cheered when he spotted a more convenient target. Up ahead, as if a gift from the rain gods, sat Hyuuga Hinata with her back turned to him. She seemed to be preoccupied with one of the local park's flowerbeds, completely unsuspecting of what was about to befall her...perfect!

Sasuke did his best to tiptoe quietly in the squelching mud off to the side of the walking path while he picked out his new partner in crime. He glanced up at Hinata every so often just to make sure that he hadn't been discovered, but was overall confident in his stalking abilities and utilized most of his attention on deciding which worm to use in his next attack. Capturing one that was inching its way over to the safety of the sidewalk, Sasuke was ready.

"Okay, Yoshi," the Uchiha boy whispered to his newest friend immediately after taking cover behind a conveniently-placed tree. Only a few yards on the other side, Hinata sat, humming to herself as she puttered around in that little garden of hers. "Do your best to land on her head."

Taking careful aim, Sasuke wished Yoshi godspeed and chucked him at his unsuspecting classmate and ducked back behind his tree. Any second now, Yoshi would land on his target and the screaming would begin...Sasuke couldn't wait!

"Eh?" was the only sound heard from Hinata's direction. No squeals. No crying. Not even a panicked "Get it off, get it off!" for his troubles. Had he missed?

Both confused and curious simultaneously, Sasuke leaned around the tree trunk to take a peek at what was going on behind him. Hinata still had her back turned to him, her fingers probing through her short hair as if searching for something.

Oh, so she hadn't found him yet. That made sense.

When she finally pulled her hands away from her head, Yoshi was clamped between her right index finger and thumb. She turned her head to better observe Sasuke's wormy friend and the hidden boy's mischievous grin widened as her eyes grew round and big.

"Worm-san!" she cried, leaning in until Yoshi was practically touching her nose. "What are you doing back there? You belong in the garden with the pretty flowers..."

After Hinata had finished this gentle scold, she lowered Yoshi down to the soil plot before her and placed him on a spot that wasn't completely submerged in rainwater. Such concern for his friend's welfare caused Sasuke to feel all weird and mushy inside.

"Okay, Worm-san," Hinata said as she pulled her hand back, smiling down upon Yoshi during her pause. "Be m-more careful from now on..."

Oh, yeah, Sasuke was in _love_.


	8. The Bridge's Tears by Fatcat648

**Title:** The Bridge's Tears  
**Author:** Fatcat648  
**Rating:** PG-13 ( T )  
**Challenge:** Showered with Love  
**Pairing:** SasuHina

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, please visit our homepage on DeviantArt for directions to the original post.

* * *

Her livid moon-shaped eyes quickly scanned the old, fading colorful houses sleeping quietly by the lapping river before softly sketching its image onto her sketch pad. The rapid scratches of her pencil and the rhythmic crashing of the river filled her ears with a central calmness as Hinata finally finished her quick sketch. She smiled, closing the sketch pad while keeping her eyes solely on the beauty of Venice, Italy.

The view from standing on the roof of such a high house though quite beautiful and scenic was also quite windy. She pulled her jacket closer as a breeze brushed the ends of her long ebony hair and whispered, "So beautiful…"

"Are you done?"

The deep baritone voice shattered the tranquil moment, causing Hinata to jump a little in surprise. Clutching her chest and sketch pad, she timidly turned to the voice behind her and immediately tensed. Uchiha Sasuke, decked in a black, leaned casually against the wall and its shadows watching her with such an intense gaze that sent shivers through her spine.

"S-Sasuke-san, w-what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you."

Her eyes darkened and she cautiously took a step back stuttering out, "W-Why?"

She watched tensely as the Uchiha slowly pushed himself off the wall to approach her. He sighed tiredly, running a hand through his thick raven locks and gazed out to the river.

"You know why, Hinata. You didn't think they'd let you escape – not after everything they've done for you, did you?"

The complete nightmare in his eyes swirled with the hues of blood, scattering her mind to the far winds as she slowly crept backwards.

"W-What they've done?!" she cried anger building pressure around her eyes. "All they've done to me is created a m-monster! A demon!"

She tightened her hold on her sketch pad at the considerable coldness that had overtaken the Uchiha as he froze in his steps. His hair carefully hid those blood-lust eyes as she listened to his voice sincerely.  


"It wasn't your fault."

Her eyes closed at the flash of a little girl lying crumbled in her arms, the blood profusely spilling from her pale eyes – so similar to Hinata's own pearly senses that she wanted to cry, scream, and everything else at once.

Vaguely she felt her heels hit the edge of the end of the flat roof bordering on the river. She took another calm breath and slowly fluttered the tears away. Her expression was calm as she gave Sasuke one last sad smile before falling backwards into the frigid and icy river.

Her sketch pad slowly danced in the air before landing gently in the water sinking as the ink bled through.

* * *

Sasuke cursed colorfully as he ran to the edge of the roof, watching as the ripples and bubbles soon began to cease. The sketch pad floated lazily along the rivers current and he was half tempted to jump in the freezing river himself to fish it out along with its artist.

But no, she apparently didn't want to be found.

He grounded his teethe at the next course of plan and hoped he still had enough time. The agency had only given him 48 hours to find the missing Hyuuga Hinata and bring her back.

Dead or alive.

Quickly he moved out of sight and headed deep into the twisting and entwining alleys of Venice.

He still had time.

* * *

Ten minutes without air. Twelve minutes was her limit which left only two more minutes to swim through the waters to arrive at her secret hideaway, get a spare change of clothes, and hightail it out of the country.

One plus thing about the agency's experiments were the sudden physical strength and power each participant was granted. Her lungs were able to carry far more air than the average person and her speed rivaled that of the Olympics. Sadly there were side effects and special 'expectations' the agency needed from the participant.

At first, when Hinata had been enrolled in the program she had believed she had been making a difference – helping people with some of the little things the world just can't know about.

How naïve she used to be.  


But not anymore. She couldn't have any ties to that agency. Not after that nightmare of an assignment. She wouldn't go back – even if they had to kill her.

Time was up.

She burst through the water surface quietly gasping for the desperate oxygen. Coughing slightly, she swam underneath the surface of a bridge and scrambled to pull herself up from the water when a hand snatched her own.

Gasping, the hand swiftly yanked her from the frigid April's water and pinned her arm to her back with a harsh raw power.

"Why hello there Hinata-chan. Fancy meeting you here in Venice! But then again, I'd recognize that swift watery purple blur anywhere, hmm?" slithered Kabuto.

When she didn't respond, he twisted her wrist harder eliciting a low painful grunt from her. With satisfaction, he continued in that sickening honey-coated voice.

"You didn't think you'd get away did you, Hi-na-ta-chan? You've been a very a naughty girl. And do you know what happens to naughty girls?"

Hinata whimpered as she felt his mouth breath closely to her ear.

"Naughty girls are punished Hinata-chan. And that's what's exactly going to happen to you."

He leered at her and Hinata closed her eyes preparing herself for the pain of his fist to come when she felt the air split and suddenly everything felt so tense. Slowly she peeked her eyes opened and couldn't contain the surprised look in her eye at the sight of Uchiha Sasuke holding tight to a trembling Kabuto's fist.

"Kabuto. The order was to bring her back unharmed," murmured Sasuke a stormy look glowering in his blood-lust eyes.

Kabuto frowned but backed off, stretching his fingers before pushing his round glasses up the bridge of his nose with a smirk.

"As you wish, Sasuke-san. Well since you seem to have the captive well in hand, I will be returning to my vacation," he said face unreadable as he quickly walked out underneath the bridge, footsteps echoing ominously around them.

When Sasuke could no longer detect Kabuto's presence, he heaved a tired sigh running his hand through his dark tresses. Then he turned a glare at the damped Hyuuga sitting limping on the floor. She caught his gaze and guiltily threw her eyes to the edge of the wall.

"Get up Hyuuga," he growled.  


Slowly Hinata stood up, her clothes sloshing with water from the canal's river. She swayed slightly but steadied herself by leaning a hand against the wall. However she took one hasty glance at the swirling blood in Sasuke's eyes and tried vainly to run back toward the river.

Sasuke easily caught her wrists, slamming her whole body into the cold dank wall of the bridge.

Breathing slowly he stared hard into her eyes seething, "What the hell are you thinking?"

She winced at his tone, looking away.

Growling he gripped her chin and tilted it to look at his own face.

"Answer me, Hinata."

"I-I-I…"

"Kabuto could have killed you! You could have killed yourself jumping off that damn building!"

"No, Sasuke-san I-no wait – "

He suddenly seemed so tired and his hand released her chin as he rested his head to bump against her own forehead frowning.

"What were you thinking?" he whispered, voice strained.

And for once, Hinata didn't try to explain herself. She only wrapped her arms around his dry and warm form, sighing with tears. Her body trembled against his strong and solid body as he stayed silent.

When Hinata felt her emotions leave dry, she wiped her hands clumsily against her raw eyes and attempted at a grateful smile at the Uchiha. He didn't return the smile except to lean closer and gently pressed his lips against her own dry lips.

For a moment, Hinata tensed against his lips but when he pulled back to give her a look she leaned in with the tiniest of smiles shyly responding to their gentle kiss.

The rain poured its heart out surrounding the bridge.

* * *

Kabuto smiled eerily at the couple under the bridge. He sighed at their foolishness before his hands ran through a rapid formation of different signs. On the ground before him black smoke bellowed up solidifying into three shapes of demons.

The demons oozed an aura of rotting death and immediately began to fight one another. Their 

horned heads bumped each other like animals until Kabuto whistled silencing the fight at once.

"Find the Hyuuga and bring her to me. Kill the Uchiha," he ordered steely.

The demons sluggishly nodded but disappeared as fast as lightening.

Kabuto pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, vanishing under the rain's rage.

* * *

Sasuke pulled harder on her hand, leading her through the canal's systems with ease. Hinata panted to keep up with his long and quick strides. Her mind was racing from the moment shared under the bridge which had broken so fast her lips still quivered from the warmth.

"S-Sasuke-san! P-Please slow do-down!"

He only pulled harder on her hand causing her to trip onto the floor. She frowned as Sasuke pulled her up not so gently, still keeping his eyes on the shadows that surrounded them.

"What's wrong?" she whispered, paranoid herself.

He only glanced at the shadows with the blood lust shining in his eyes. Confused, she looked harder into the night activating her eyes when she gasped. Three demonic blurs were rushing towards their position.

Panicked, she looked around for an escape and then to Sasuke who pulled her closer to him and breathed softly into her ear, "Hold your breath," as he jumped into the canal.

The freezing water griped their clutched bodies, battering them to flow with the river as they were pulled further away from the demons.

They later broke through the icy surface shivering under a small bridge. Hinata coughed out the dirty water from her lungs as she crawled toward the wall. Sasuke only stood silently, listening before grunting and pulling Hinata up with him.

"S-Sasuke-san!" she cried out in surprise, still soaking wet.

"Quiet! They're coming fast. I don't think we can escape them together."

Hinata immediately stopped her fussing and stared at him.

"W-What do you mean? Split up th-then?"

He wouldn't meet her eyes when she repeated the question. Frantically she asked again, forcing his eyes to answer her own. The answer painfully gleaned within the swirls of crimson and ebony.  


"No," her throat croaked, "we can't. We've only j-just… I can't… No, Sasuke! Not alone… Not again."

She trailed off, her eyes finishing the sentence in its own way that all Sasuke could do to respond was to pull her in closer wrapping his arms tightly around her. He buried his face into her wet shoulder only saying, "I'll protect you, Hinata. I promise."

His fingers snaked through her hair to a specific pressure point against her neck, feeling the erratic pulsating of her frightened heart. With the ease of a professional, Sasuke gently held the nerve down. Her shudders gradually ended in the warmth Hinata allowed to encompass her conscious.

* * *

The scent grew thick and fresh leading the three demons to end in the dripping tunnels of the underground canal system beneath the sleeping city of Venice. Their jaws snapped in anticipation of the blood to be spilled as they approached two forms lying against the corner.

Eagerness overcame their shadowed forms as one tried to push his other companions into the wall to leap onto the target. His fangs carved deep into their bodies only to pull out dirty cloth and the trigger of an explosive tag.

The tunnel erupted in kunai knives firing everywhere, killing the demon that stood there.

The other two erupted in a ferocious growl and tore through the rest of the tunnel. Their howls echoed through the damp tunnel when Sasuke took a bold step a corner to slam his blade straight through the snout of the first demon.

The creature erupted in howls as it fell back while the other stepped forth protectively in front of it. It growled at the blood-slick blade, circling the Uchiha with careful steps. Sasuke stared back, eyes twirling in the infamous Sharingan.

The tension snapped and the demon leapt with a snarl crashing Sasuke into the wall. The rocks unsteadily groaned. Continuously the demon threw its claws and fangs to slash Sasuke but the Uchiha quickly blocked each attack – his Sharingan catching every movement.

However he could feel his stamina slowly drain.

The demon grew frantic in its movements causing Sasuke to swing his katana only in defense.

Things only got worse when the other demon finally managed to staunch the pain and joined in on the battle.

The muscles in Sasuke's arms screamed as he struggled to parry the continuous attacks of the two demons. His mind tiredly flashed to Hinata and a kiss when his katana was finally knocked 

flying from his hands to be swept with the murky current of the water.

He cursed as a demon slammed a fist into his chest while the other swept his legs from under him. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he fell onto the slimy ground. He struggled to stand back up but a demon kicked him back down before gripping him by the neck to hold him several inches off the ground.

Wit his last effort, Sasuke gathered chakra into his hand building up the momentum until the whole tunnel echoed in the cries of birds. He pushed the ball of lightning chakra into the demon's torso before his world went suffocating black.

"Hinata…"

* * *

Hinata woke slowly, fluttering the water from her eyelashes like a butterfly's wings. Her neck strangely ached as she sat up with a groan. Her eyesight fuzzed but soon cleared as she took in her surroundings. She had somehow ended back under the bridge earlier in the night. Drowsily she smiled at the memory shared with this bridge when she finally realized he was not with her.

"Sasuke-san?"

Her voice seemed to cause the ancient bridge to groan in loneliness. A dreadful feeling filled pushed her heart to erratically beating in anxiety.

With her heart caught her in her throat, Hinata scrambled to move and look for the dark-haired man with the enigmatic eyes. Her feet raced along the water's edge and almost collapsed when a silver glint caught her frantic gaze.

In the water floated Sasuke's katana meshed together with her tattered sketch pad. She sat still, her mind replaying the day's earlier events – how fast and how long ago it all seemed compared to the emptiness she felt.

The silence of the whole discovery left Hinata numb but the tears didn't fall. Instead the sky opened its own sadness to cry upon the broken girl next to the ancient bridge.

Her heart no longer beating in her ears, Hinata jumped into the water to retrieve the katana and the sketch pad. She swam with long and strong strokes but as she neared the items her hands seemed to tremble uncontrollably – as if touching the katana or sketch pad would confirm Sasuke's disappearance.

The rain pounded harder.

Swallowing the fear she made a grab for the sword, sweeping in her sketch pad along with her movements before swimming quickly back to the shelter of the bridge. Coughing harder than ever, she pulled herself from the edge to rest while clutching at her possessions.  


Her eyes blurrily stared at the smooth edge of the sword wondering how in the world everything could have fallen apart so fast. Her fingers distantly traced her moist lips.

Her tears fell, mixing sadly with the tears of the bridge.

* * *

End

**A.N:** Love doesn't always end happily. Well this was the alternative to 'Bridging Love…' and quite a change if I don't say! I like to think that this story had a different viewpoint on love than compared to my first entry and that love isn't just seen through only one angle.

And thanks goes to DateMe for informing me that is was possible to SUBMIT MORE THAN ONE entry so I hope you enjoyed this. And learn to cherish what you have now for you may not know when you might lose it.


	9. April Showers by Ms Videl Son

**Title: **April Showers**  
Author:** Ms. Videl Son**  
Rating: **PG-13 ( T )**  
Challenge:** Showered With Love**  
Pairing: **SasuHina

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, the original is posted right here on ff. net in Ms. Videl Son's (aka, megaminoeien on DA) personal profile.

* * *

Hinata sighed in defeat as she combed her fingers through her hair and came away with more potting soil. No matter how many times she rinsed out her thick indigo locks, she couldn't seem to get rid of it all. At times like this, she almost wanted to cut her hair short again...alas.

Still, it wasn't like she got this dirty all that often at her gardening club meetings. More often than not, club would be cancelled altogether on rainy days such as this, allowing the members to stay indoors and out of the muck. Today, however, Lee had absolutely _insisted_ upon tending to the campus flowerbeds on the premise that, were they to be left alone, they would surely drown in the torrential rainfall that was to come during the night.

Hinata, feeling sympathy for both the innocent daisies she'd planted earlier in the month and Lee, who was bound and determined to protect them at all costs, had offered to help her club president cover up the delicate garden with a tarp before heading for home. Little did she know that she would be coming away from the experience more than just wet.

Surprisingly, Hinata hadn't been the only volunteer for this mission. Almost immediately after she'd offered her services to an ecstatically flamboyant Lee, Uchiha Sasuke – second year heartthrob and unexpected lover of purple flowers – had announced that he, too, would be willing to assist them. After him had come Ino, Sakura, Ami and a slew of other girls to the rescue of the gardens. Who knew that they were all so enthusiastic about the club's seedlings? It always seemed to Hinata that they were too frightened of worms to actually plant anything...

Well, whatever the reason, the gardens were now safe for the night. Between the fifteen of them, the plants were covered quickly and efficiently and almost everyone had gone home for the afternoon. Everyone except, of course, Hinata who had suffered a little...accident while out fighting the wind and rain (she was sure that Ami hadn't _meant_ to knock her down, though).

After finally managing to pin down her portion of the tarp, Hinata had reluctantly excused herself from the group to go clean herself up in the girl's locker room. Both Lee and Sasuke had insisted that she go immediately after falling and Hinata, not wanting to be a burden, had acquiesced to this request without much argument.

"I wonder if they're done yet...," Hinata said to herself as she placed the bar of soap back on it's dish. It was covered in a sudsy layer of grime that made it almost look as if it were molding.

She stepped under the shower head for a final time and rinsed the dirty lather away, allowing the water to flow down her face, neck and body. Turning this way and that until all the dirt and soap was gone, leaving her body slick and shiny, Hinata reveled in the experience for as long as she could. She knew it was getting late, however, and was forced to finish up and get going.

Turning the knobs before her until the water was no more than a slight dribble, Hinata sighed another time. The soothing comfort was over far too quickly for her tastes.

She pulled back the curtain to reveal the anti-chamber attached to her stall and plucked her towel from its hook on the wall, immediately thereafter beginning the process of drying herself. Her body wouldn't take long (just a quick pat down with a swath of terrycloth would do the trick), but her hair – as long and absorbent as it was – would take much more time. She wouldn't even be able to dry it all the way, but would instead have to tie it back in a braid for the walk back to the Hyuuga Mansion.

Of course, first thing was always first so Hinata twisted her hair up into her towel and wrapped it around her head like a turban. With her hands free, she reached out to the bench where she'd left her uniform and found –

A muddy lump.

"Oh, no...," Hinata lamented softly to herself, starting to seriously fret now. Though she had entered the locker room covered head-to-toe in muck, it had somehow escaped the Hyuuga heiress' notice that her clothing would no longer pass as acceptable attire once she was clean (even dirty, it would probably turn heads). It seemed as if she would have to find some sort of alternative...had she brought her gym clothes with her today?

_Slip, slap...slip, slap..._

Startled out of her inner musings by the quick, steady pace of bare footsteps, it took Hinata a few precious seconds to panic initially. When she did, though, it dawned on her quickly that she was completely and utterly_ naked_ and suffering from a distinct lack of potential coverings.

_Slip, slap...slip, slap...slip, slap..._

The footsteps were growing louder, which meant that they were also getting closer. In the back of her mind, Hinata knew that being frightened of the intruder was probably silly since they would surely be female (what with her location being the girl's locker room, and all) and, with any luck, also sympathetic to her plight. Still, the Hyuuga heiress hadn't ever been terribly comfortable with being undressed in front of other people, even if her audience happened to be members of her shared gender. All because she had started puberty a little too early and the girls from her middle school gym class had been so mean about it...

_Slip, slap...slip, slap._

The last footfall of the intruder fell with a particularly heavy slap. From what Hinata understood about proximics, whoever the girl was had stopped right in front of her shower stall.

In sudden inspiration derived from fear, Hinata remembered the towel covering her head just as four fingers slipped through the gap between curtain and wall and grabbed hold of the plastic sheet. She reached up and pulled on the loose twist of terrycloth and felt her hair begin to fall from its confines.

Just as the wet, matted locks hit her shoulders, the curtain pulled back to expose her to –

Uchiha Sasuke.

Hinata could never be sure how long she had stood there, completely frozen in position with her arms over her head and her hair settling around her in a tangled mess, but she felt it had to have been a long time. As paralyzed with embarrassment as she had been, Hinata wouldn't have been surprised if she had stood there for an hour or longer, staring at Sasuke's face as he stared at...at _her_.

Sasuke, despite the bright coloring in his normally pale face, wasn't quite as immobile as she, apparently, because Hinata distinctly recalled being horrified as his eyes slowly dipped down and then back up again. That was how she knew he'd gotten a good look, after all.

Since she was probably incapable of doing so herself, it was up to Sasuke to break the awkward silence between them. For this task, he said, "What're you doing in the boy's locker room, Hyuuga?"

After that, Hinata's memory of her unfortunate encounter with the Uchiha prodigy came to an abrupt end. It wasn't even until hours later, when she woke up in the hospital wing, that she had the presence of mind to scream.

— — —

**Author's Notes:** Muahahaha...oh yeah, I went there.

Un-beta'd.

_**. ( . Ms Videl Son . ) .**_

– _Love can be black and white. SasuHina._


	10. Beginnings by LadyKnightofHollyros

**Title:** Beginnings**  
Author:** LadyKnightofHollyros**  
Rating:** PG ( K+ )**  
Challenge: **Showered With Love**  
Pairing: **SasuHina

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, please visit our homepage on DeviantArt for directions to the original post.

* * *

When he had heard a serving girl and a footman gossiping about some noble lady shooting at the wilting tree used as a target by many in one of the lesser courtyards, he'd thought nothing of it. He had assumed that it was just that – gossip.

As he passed through the many corridors of the palace, he reasoned; even the most eager knights had been deterred from practicing by the torrents of rain that pelted everything it its path. Pages and squires were relieved of their outdoor punishments for one day, their masters too busy to assign indoor ones and not quite cruel enough to subject them to such hostile weather (though he did wonder whether or not it actually was a question of cruelty – pampered noble brats belonging to influential parents could often make disciplining unruly pages difficult). So why would a noble lady – a high-born one if what he'd heard was true – be outside in the freezing rain practicing archery of all things?

As he ventured further into the winding maze that was the palace, he noted how rare it was for him to have a moment to himself; to be able to idle about.

At first he didn't even notice the soft 'thunk' of an arrowhead burying into wood, breaking the steady thrum of the rain.

A particularly strong gust of wind awoke him from his stupor and the next 'thunk' was not left unheard.

He would never admit to such a thing aloud, but he was curious of its source despite himself. As his head turned, his brows rose slightly at the sight that he saw.

A woman who looked to be of a similar age to his own, knocked an arrow to her bow and loosed it in one fell motion. It splintered a branch and landed in a puddle. She didn't seem to notice.

Her cotton gown stuck to her form and the ends of her dark dripping hair curled slightly, as ice cold water continued to attack her from above.

Despite knowing of the chilled gusts that battered her petite, soaked body, it surprised him that her skin was even paler than his own.

He leaned against a pillar observing her peculiar behaviour, unconsciously fascinated. Her hand flew fluidly to the rapidly emptying quiver upon her back and she drew another arrow, loosing it deftly. It was followed by another. And another.

The thought that accompanied the slightly bemused expression that adorned his features was this:

What on earth had possessed her?

x X x

It. Just. Wasn't. Fair.

She loosed one arrow for each word in quick succession, not really seeing where each landed through eyes clouded by frustration.

Most people would have thought that being the heiress of one of the mist influential fiefs in the realm would get whatever she wanted without having to ask for them. Indeed she had never really had to ask anything of her father, though this did not necessarily mean that she would receive things anyway…

She shook her head. No, this wasn't the problem at hand; at any rate she had never really wanted anything enough to ask for it.

Until now, that is.

Just what was so wrong with wanting to be able to defend her Queen and her home?

When her father had heard that not only had she applied for a place in the Royal Ladies without consulting him, she had already been to two of the interviewing stages, he had been furious.

After summoning her to his chambers to ask if this was true (she was never quite sure how he found out these things; she had never taken the rumour of the 'all seeing' Hyuuga eyes seriously) she had replied honestly.

He had dismissed her, and hadn't said a word to her since save a cold "I will not allow it."

She could still hear his detached words echoing in her mind as she drew another arrow from her quiver and tried to steady her shaking fingers. If she trembled it was from suppressed rage (a foreign emotion to her) and not from the harsh weather that continued to batter her.

"You know, no matter how much you mutilate the tree, nothing will happen to the one who has angered you."

She jumped, startled, and turned to face her one man audience. Vaguely aware of the small droplets of rain that fell of her dark lashes, her eyes widened slightly as she recognised her observer, her once knuckle-white grip becoming slack in her surprise.

"Sir Sasuke," she greeted, wobbling into a slight curtsey. After holding one stance for so long in the cold rain, her muscles protested at the sudden movement. Hands reached out to steady her and she looked up in surprise; unreadable eyes surveyed her as she scrambled to right herself, embarrassed at her stumble despite her earlier anger.

Sir Sasuke nodded back at her in acknowledgment as though it had never happened.

She gazed at him curiously; known throughout the court for his 'brooding good looks' (according to Lady Sakura anyway) and brave acts for the crown, Sir Sasuke was also notorious for keeping a wide berth of the female population and his overall antisocial attitude. Seeing him here at all begged the question: what was he doing here?

She was not given the opportunity to ask.

"Who would have thought that the 'delicate' Lady Hinata was capable of such damage," the young knight remarked, his tone dry. Hinata flushed, again in embarrassment, but also in annoyance as she remembered the reason for her being outside in such conditions in the first place.

She watched numbly as he approached the tree and inspected the cluster of arrows that had buried themselves into the wood. "With a steadier hand, you'd be a good shot."

Her brows rose and her lips parted slightly. Sir Sasuke, who avoided speaking to those he was acquainted with, was conversing with her – of his own violation.

He must have seen the question in her pearly orbs. He smirked a little.

"I heard that you did not like to be the centre of attention. I must have heard wrong." Hinata's face contorted with confusion. His smirk grew a little wider, "When I heard talk of a high born lady shooting arrows in the midst of a tempest I thought it was a lie. I have to wonder what has made someone so… quiet so…" He could not seem to find the right word, but she could see how hearing such a thing could cause curiosity.

She trudged over to his side and began to collect the fallen arrows around the poor tree, sliding them carefully into the quiver, debating whether or not she should say anything. It was a family matter after all.

"I-I don't think I can say…" Her voice sounded like crisp autumn leaves as her parched throat cracked a little from remaining silent for so long. She swallowed and added, "I thank you for your concern."

He did not reply. Hinata heard the faint rustle of wet clothing as he began pulling arrows out of the bark. It had only occurred to her now that he too was in the rain.

They worked in silence for a while and Hinata's thoughts drifted back to her father's reaction.

"_I will not allow it."_

She clenched her teeth. What would she do?

"Have you tried taking matters into your own hands?"

His voice broke her out of her reverie.

"I-I couldn't possibly…" Of course she had not: what could she do if her father had expressly forbidden her from doing that which she desired most?

Her cousin, Sir Neji, who had not been on good terms with her for a number of years until recently had tried to fight her case for her. She could remember hearing the conversation clearly from the other side of closed doors, unable to say anything herself and grateful that she had someone who was willing to do so in her place.

"_Why should she be unable to defend her country? Had she been your son she would have become a knight of the realm and you would not have had a second thought-"_

"_The Royal Ladies are not a frivolous show of ladies in waiting any longer; they must fight in combat. She is too weak. I will not hear another word of this nonsense and I will not let my daughter die needlessly."_

And then it hit her.

"Matters into my own hands?"

He slid the arrows he had gathered into her quiver. His face was devoid of emotion and she couldn't even begin to guess what he was thinking. His dark eyes surveyed her, waiting for her to come to a decision.

"B-but that would be…" She stopped. It would be disobeying father. But she would not let this go, and would achieve this dream alone.

Although the rain continued its constant assault, the tempest that had swirled within her mind and what she must do became clear.

Cold fingers tilted her head up. "Keep your chin up."

As he walked away she wondered why he had deigned to advise her.

As he walked to shelter he wondered the same.


End file.
